


Thick and Thin

by BacktraF



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, First chapter will not reference his werewolfness, M/M, Nearly everyone starts out hating him., Past Torture, Poor Hanzo, Rating May Change, Werewolf Jesse McCree, Zenyatta is too wise, mentions of past suicide attempts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2018-08-17 08:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8136463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BacktraF/pseuds/BacktraF
Summary: Hanzo has just joined Overwatch and no one seems to like him, Jesse McCree especially. In his attempt to be a likable person, he notices something strange about the resident Cowboy, and he's determined to figure it out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, my first Overwatch fic! Time to either rock this or fail miserably. This first chapter is a little short, but future chapters I'm hoping to make longer. Also, I really think that most of the original Overwatch would hate Hanzo's guts at first. Plus walking Zenyatta for the win! Because I don't think that he floats everywhere.

Hanzo was careful. He cased out the watchpoint for two weeks before he decided to make himself known. He kept a list of everyone he saw, noting their name if he heard someone say it. Angela, the doctor of the regrowing team, was the one that Hanzo had read who rebuilt Genji. If the archer decided to join this Overwatch, he knew everyone there would not like him, but the doctor especially would have her own special hatred for him. He wouldn't be surprised if she tried to kill him.

Tonight he was doing one last night of observation then he would make his decision. This night was pretty quiet so he simply sat next to a small window and glanced in every now and then as he meditated on what he should do. The archer's brooding was soon interrupted when he heard slightly muffled talking through the window.

He drew himself up and looked through the window, immediately recognizing Genji, who was walking along with another team member. This new member was wearing a full set of cowboy get up, Hanzo could even hear the jingle of spurs. He had to resist rolling his eyes and the ridiculousness of the outfit. His critique of the fashion choice was stopped when he heard his name being mentioned. The importance of who this man was disappeared as Hanzo strained to hear what they were talking of about him.

"I don't care if he is your brother, I'll knock his teeth out!" The Cowboy yelled, the heavy southern drawl in his voice evident.

Genji nodded in understanding. "While I appreciate your concern, Jesse, would also appreciate it if me best friend did not knock out my brother's teeth."

"Aw shucks, partner. You consider me your best friend?" The one Hanzo now noted as Jesse suddenly out Genji in a headlock. The Archer's immediate reaction was to grab for his bow, but he stopped short when he saw that Genji did not fight back, but was, instead, laughing at the action. Jesse laughed along with him and released the ninja before they both walked out of earshot. An uneasy feeling settled in his stomach as he came to realize that he was not sure how well he was going to get along with everyone. They all probably wanted to see him dead; All, save for his brother.

After he decided that he was done casing the place out, he found that only his brother and an ape named Winston were the only ones who seemed to be excited for his arrival. With a sigh, he supposed that he should just get this over with or just walk away, and he knew that he wasn't going to do the latter, so getting this over with was his only option. He was never going to leave Genji until he has atoned for his sins. So with his mind set and once the sun had risen, Hanzo collected his small amount of belongings and headed towards the large base. He approached the large door, which was shut tight and a thought crossed his mind that he should knock. The thought was so comical that he couldn't resit the urge to laugh as he imagined the absurd action. A voice above him caused him to start out of his thoughts.

"I have not heard you laugh in a long time, brother." Genji hopped down from his perch, landing gracefully and silently. " I am glad you decided to come. I trust your observations of this facility have been satisfactory?"

Hanzo was almost caught off guard, but he quickly wiped any surprise out of his mind. Of course his brother would know of his nighttime scouting. They had both been trained to be observant to the point of trusting their gut feeling when it was telling them they were being watched. 

"Yes, I suppose so. As satisfactory as it can be when you realize everyone hates you." Came his stiff reply.

Genji visibly faltered and cast his gaze downward. "They will come around and warm up to you. Athena, would you please open the door and alert the others that my brother has arrived?"

They only answer they received was the hissing of the door slowly opening to allow them access to the inside. As they stepped inside the building and made their way to the common room, Genji placed his arms around Hanzo's shoulders. Despite the fact that the arm was made of metal, it was surprisingly warm. That fact did not stop Hanzo from stiffening at the contact. He did not feel as though he deserved the affection that his brother was trying to provide to him. The younger knew that the Archer had isolated himself and kept his distance from people in his own way of punishment. When they made it to the large room, Hanzo was taken by surprise at the sudden amount of people that greeted him. A heavy and awkward silence settled over as Hanzo noticed that he was receiving a glare from nearly everyone there. After what felt like an eternity, someone cleared their throat.

Everyone's eyes turned towards the source and Winston stepped forward. "Well alright! It's great to finally meet you!" The ape extended his hand and Hanzo politely returned the gesture, watching as his was engulfed by the other's much larger hand.

"Likewise. And thank you for accepting me." Hanzo said crisply with a bow.

Winston smiled and let Genji take over when the cyborg stepped in to take him over to the group of team members. "Brother, let me introduce you to the other's."

He made his way through the group of people, Hanzo recognizing some while there were others that he did not remember seeing at all. The younger members of the team, such as Lucio and Hana, who seemed to look up to Genji like a brother, both seemed to be excited to meet him. Reinhardt also seemed fairly indifferent to his arrival, looking to make more friends than enemies. However, when Genji got to Angela, hesitated, knowing that she was not interested in having Hanzo as a teammate, if her attitude towards him during the entire meet and great was not enough.

"Pleasure..." She said with such distasted that one might've thought she had eaten something bitter before he came.

Hanzo tried his best to appear friendly and gave a light bow in her direction, before Genji quickly moved onto the next and final person that had yet to be introduced. "And finally we have Jesse McCree!"

"Please, don't call me Jesse. Jesse is reserved for friends and lovers of which you are neither." The cowboy spat out with such malice that Hanzo flinched back.

It wasn't that he was afraid of this McCree, more taken aback. Hanzo looked back at Genji with a frown, who also seemed to be shocked by McCree's reaction towards him. "I'm not sure that this will work out..."

The cyborg panicked and took a hold of his shoulder. "Please brother. Stay for a few days at least." Hanzo had come so far, he didn't want him to back out now and go back to his life of solitude.

"Fine." Was all he said in reply. Everone else, save for the few younger ones, looked disappointed that he wasn't leaving.

Genji smiled under his mask and took Hanzo by the arm. They quickly left the room to get him settled into his own room for the day. Genji talked for the both of them, mentioning that everyone would come around once they got to know him and that the just needed to actually sit and talk instead of jumping to conclusions. He continued talking before they turned a corner and ran into an omnic.

"Master!" Genji exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"Ah, Genji. Is this your brother?" Came the smooth, robotic voice of the omnic. "I do apologize. I was unable to make it to great him with you, however," He turned towards Hanzo and gave a light bow of his head. "It is a pleasure to final meet you."

"You are... the one who helped my brother?" Hanzo asked.

"I merely helped him see past what had happened and taught him to look to the future instead." The monk said humbly.

Immediately, Hanzo was on his knees, his forehead pressed against the floor. "Thank you... for giving him the love he deserves."

"Hanzo..." Genji sounded sad and, if Hanzo was not mistaken, a bit embarrassed as well. The cyborg hooked his hand under his older brother's arm to help him back up.

"There is no need to thank me for such things. I am Zenyatta, and I hope that we may become great friends."

Hanzo gave a light nod of his head before watching the omnic monk walk away from them. Behind him, he heard the hiss of air and the mechanical shift of metal. Turning around, he saw that Genji had removed his mask and was smiling at him. "Brother, I was afraid that you would feel awkward around my master. I am glad that you could get along with him."

Hanzo felt the ghost of a smile grace his lips before looking to the floor. "He saved you. I had to thank him."

___________

Once Hanzo was in his room and settled, Genji made his way back to the common room and marched straight over to Jesse. His face plate was still off so everyone could see how upset he was. The cowboy looked up, hearing the usually silent steps now as heavy foot falls approach, but didn't have enough time to react when Genji suddenly slugged him hard in the arm.

"Ouch, shit!" McCree began rubbing his arm in pain. "What the hell was that for?"

"Way to make my brother feel welcome and guiltier than he already does, you Jackass!" There was no light and playful tone in the ninja's voice like there usually was. McCree shrank back and cast his eyes downwards before watching Genji turn to the rest of the team. "All of you! He is the last family I have. Do not turn him away with all of your selfishness!"

That was all Genji said before turning on his heal and walking back out of the room. The silence that ensued lasted for nearly a minute before Zenyatta decided to speak up. "He his right, you know. Who here has the right to hate Hanzo more than Genji himself? And if Genji does not hate him, who then has any right to hate him at all?"

McCree shifted awkwardly on his feet, knowing that the omnic was right. He removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "Shit. Suppose I should try to make friends with him then..."

"And apologize to him." Zenyatta added, with a light air to his tone.

A grumble made it's way past McCree's lips as he put his hat back on and pulled it down to conceal his eyes. This was going to be a lot of work not because the action itself was hard, but because his best friend was brought to Overwatch, broken and dying. Grant it, they weren't friends at that point, but Genji had hated himself and at times had wanted and even attempted to kill himself. That grudge and hatred towards his brother had rubbed off onto McCree and the cowboy had been very protective of the cyborg. So it was no surprise that when Genji came back from his long stay with the omnic monks in Nepal, McCree wasn't even sure he was the same Genji that had left all those years ago. He was so much... happier.

With a sigh, McCree decided to leave the room in search of the newest member of the team instead of bumming around awkwardly after hearing the monk say that. He walked down the halls of the base, absently thinking of how he was going to word his sentence once he was there, not noticing how short of a walk it actually was when he needed time to think. He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door. There was silence that followed for a solid ten seconds.

"Welp, I tried..." McCree said under his breath before making an attempt to turn and leave.

He stopped in his tracks when the door opened behind him. Turning back around, he tipped his hat and all but yelled, "Howdy!"

Hanzo blinked in confusion at the other's awkward attempt in greeting. "Hello..? Can I help you with something or are you here to threaten me?"

The other deflated slightly and a frown became visible on his features. "Well here I am, attempting to apologize and you get all smart on me," he said with a slight condescending attitude.

Hanzo bristled at the comment and scowled. "I take that as a no, then."

"Well not anymore!" McCree yelled in anger.

The response he received was not actually what he was expecting when the door suddenly slammed shut in his face. "Shit... that was not how I wanted that to go..." McCree scratched the back of his head sheepishly before attempting to knock on the door again.

"Go away!" Came the other's voice from beyond the closed door.

"I... I'm sorry." McCree tried. He wasn't surprised when he received no response, though it was still a bit awkward. He tried again. "We've got a practice range and your brother tells me that you're amazing with a bow, if you wanna try it."

Still no sound came from the room and the gunslinger was afraid that he had ruined his chance. With a small sigh, his shoulders dropped in defeat before the other's voice made him perk back up a bit.

"Perhaps later. I... an exhausted right now and I would like to rest."

"S-Sure thing! Uh, just let me know when it's a good time!" McCree waited for a few more seconds and when there was no response, he decided that it was a good time to walk away. This was either the start of a great friendship or a long rivalry and not the friendly kind either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their brief encounter, McCree seems to have gotten sick, and Hanzo finds it a bit odd. Also, I'm completely on board with the whole 'Genji was a total playboy'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of the positive feedback! I plan to upload a chapter each weekend so that's my plan. If I miss a weekend, do not worry. I'm most likely behind, but I will post it soon.

The next morning, Hanzo woke up and opened his room door, peeking out to check if the coast was clear before stepping out as he tied up his hair. He has cased out this place a hundred times over so he knew the layout of this base. With that in mind, he made his way to the designated kitchen and looked through each of the cabinets and refrigerator for anything that looked appealing. In one of the cabinets, he located a box of tea bags. Pulling it out, he looked it over. Well it wasn't green tea, but at least this place even had tea. He pulled out a bag and began heating water on the stove.

"Yo, you're Genji's bro!"

Hanzo started and turned around, seeing one of the younger team members standing before him in a white tank top and green sweats covered in frogs. He wasn't sure how to react at the other's sudden appearance, but he recognized the other from the meet and greet yesterday. "Uh, yes." He decided to answer matter-of-factly.

"Nice! Name's Lucio!" the other answered, taking a seat at the island in the center of the kitchen.

"Hanzo is mine." The archer replied as he continued preparing the tea.

Lucio hummed in response and gave a yawn. So much for the peace and quiet Hanzo was hoping for. He had, or so he thought, everyone's morning schedule down and had found that there was about an hour between when the early risers left and the lat risers arrived. However it seemed that this particular young man decided to go against his usual routine today. Hanzo gave a sigh and closed his eyes, hoping that the young man would be the only one to show up, but his hopes were soon dashed when someone else showed up.

"Luci!" A young Korean girl ran in and slapped the boy on the back. "Eastwood is locking himself in his room already!"

"Whoa, what? It's a bit early in the day for that, isn't it, Hana?"

"I know, so there goes our plan to figure out the whole mystery this monthy." Hana gave a huff and Hanzo frowned. His morning was completely ruined.

He was about to finish making his tea when he realized that they were both talking about someone named 'Eastwood'. Who was this Eastwood and Hanzo began wondering why he wasn't told about him. Turning to the other two, he cleared his throat. "Excuse my curiosity, but who is Eastwood?"

Lucio looked at him for a moment and blinked like he was crazy before it dawned on him that the archer wasn't aware of the nicknames that he had for a lot of people. "Oh! Eastwood is McCree!"

Hanzo raised a brow at the reply, not sure if he should be concerned. The cowboy was locking himself in his room? The former heir of a Yakuza clan frowned deeply and crossed his arms. "Is... he alright?" He asked with caution.

"I mean... he locks himself in his room once a month for three days. He always says it's because he's sick, but Hana and I have this little bet going on." Lucio started before Hana jumped in and interjected.

"I totally think he's on his period!" She piped up and Lucio rolled his eyes.

"Come on, no he ain't! He's definitely a werewolf or something."

"Or something!" Hana said with a confident tone as she flashed the boy a smirk, who, in turn, gave her a scowl.

Hanzo let them continue to bicker as he quietly excused himself with his finished tea in hand. In the hall, he stopped and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly to calm himself. He was used to quiet days with little to no people, so being suddenly surrounded by a constant stream of people was overwhelming for him. Taking another moment, he went back to his room and sipped at the tea while mulling over what the two young team members had said.

"So McCree claims he is sick, this happens once a month for three days, and he locks himself in his room. No wonder he was so bitter yesterday." He said to himself, amused. "He probably is on his period."

He chuckled to himself and shook his head, knowing that wasn't true. The cowboy could indeed be sick and locks himself away to prevent someone from aggravating his pain. With a small shrug he continued on with his day, thinking in the back of his mind that he hoped the cowboy was alright. After a while of isolating himself, he received a knock on his door. Rising from his meditative position, he walked over to the door and opened it, blinking in slight surprise when he saw Genji standing there.

"Brother, I'm glad you made at least one trip out of your room. Lucio and Hana both told me that the talked with you this morning in the kitchen."

"Well I barely did any of the talking, and I left soon after they started fighting with each other. It was becoming overwhelming to stick around with all the noise," Hanzo replied.

"Ah, I do apologize, Hanzo. I forgot you are not used to lots of people, especially children. I knew mother's intuition was right when she said you would never have any children." Genji laughed and Hanzo scoffed, giving him a playful shove.

"And you were going to father, what, 20 or more? Due to all of the women you slept with."

The cyborg continued to laugh. "I only went without protection a few times," He said as if he were completely innocent.

Hanzo rolled his eyes and smiled like nothing had ever happened between them. "That was more information that I think I needed." He felt an inkling of happiness again and he held onto that feeling. In his attempt to relish the feeling, he felt tears prick at his eyes. "I do not deserve this, Genji..."

"Everyone deserves a second chance, brother. How you use that second chance is what defines you and what you deserve after that." Genji replied laying his hand on Hanzo's shoulder. "And I am glad you used your second chance to join a good cause."

Hanzo heaved a heavy sigh and wiped the tears from his eyes before shaking his head. "I almost struck the elders down that night... but instead I fled, our family hot on my tail... our father that called us both his sons."

"I have not considered them my family for a long time. You are my only family now, Hanzo," Genji finished with an air of finality, leaving no room for argument. "Oh, Lucia also said you asked about, McCree. Did he talk to you?"

Hanzo blinked at the sudden change of topic, having been caught off guard. "Oh, um, yes. He stopped by my room last night and he made a fool of himself at first. I slammed the door in his face." The archer saw his brother's shoulders slump in response, visibly upset that McCree had done something stupid again. Hanzo continued. "But he apologized soon after and invited me to go to the practice range."

"Really?" Genji asked with obvious surprise.

"Yes. I told him that I would do it later, since I was exhausted, but it seems that McCree is now sick, so for now that is out of the question."

"Damn, I really feel like you two could become great friends." Genji gave something that sounded like an over dramatic sigh.

"Great friends? Hardly. He is a fool and does not know when to hold his tongue." Hanzo gave a huff and crossed his arms.

The cyborg gave a chuckle and patted the other's shoulder. "He is a good person. He's just had a... less that appealing view of you since the original Overwatch, which was over ten years ago."

Hanzo hesitated for a moment. "That is a long time to hate someone you do not know."

"He was influenced by me. I regret to say that it is my fault." Genji said in turn.

"Tell me... tell me what I did."

Genji looked at him before taking off his mask. "I'm not sure now is the time..." He didn't want to start Hanzo out with a bigger burden on his shoulders.

Hanzo looked at Genji's face and frowned deeply, taking in all of the scars on his skin. He already knew what he did physically, but emotionally was another story. "I should know what I did."

With a sigh, the cyborg sat down on the edge of the bed and Hanzo followed suit. "When I first arrived and I woke up in a foreign bed with white walls surrounding me, I panicked, not knowing where exactly I was. See the augmentations, I couldn't believe that it was actually me that I was seeing. Many times I tried to tear out the wires in my arms and legs. I was in such a rage one time that, when McCree happened to find me and tried to stop me, I didn't see him for who he was... I saw him as someone else, someone evil and I nearly killed him... That is what you did, but I have forgiven you. Please do not ask me to reveal anymore. I have already let go of the past and I want you to move on as well. Telling you more, I fear, would plunge you into a deeper abyss than you have already made for yourself."

"So I hurt you more than I could have ever thought." Hanzo sighed and looked to the door. He wanted to move on, but he hated now knowing how much he actually hurt Genji. "I want to redeem myself."

Genji shook his head. "You have already redeemed yourself by coming here to fight with us. Besides I have already forgiven you."

Remaining silent, the archer watched as Genji stood and gave him a smile before stepping out of the room. Well now Hanzo felt like the devil, but he shook off the feeling and stood as well. "I need to move on."

________

Later that day, Hanzo found his way to find Winston to get himself officially integrated into the team. He had already pushed past the feeling of dread that came with the thought of working with the people that hated him, and decided that he needed to be here. Winston gave him a full walk through of everything he needed to know, and introduced him to Athena, the base AI.

"So if you need any information or access to something, just ask her!" Winston said as he finished his speech.

Hanzo gave a thoughtful nod. "Thank you again for accepting me."

A smile appeared on the ape's face. "You know, when Genji first came here, he was angry at you, but he also talked about how much pressure the both of you were constantly under. So I came to realize that, perhaps, you did not want to do what you did, but because of that pressure, it felt like the only way. Now I know that doesn't fix the situation or what happened, but maybe it will give you another perspective on everything." Winston smiled at him and Hanzo simply stood there, thinking about what he said.

"Thank you." Hanzo felt himself smiling as well. "I do believe that helped a bit." He gave a light bow of his head and left the room, going back to his own room. Once there, he sat in silence for a while, attempting to meditate, but his mind kept drifting back to the rest of the time.

Would they actually grow to accept him? He knew at least the cowboy was trying despite the mouth on him, and Hanzo was grateful for that. He opened his eyes and frowned. The younger team members had mentioned that he had locked himself in his room because he claimed to be sick. Was he okay? He opened his mouth and looked to the ceiling of his room. "Uh... Athena?" He called out cautiously, almost not expecting a response.

"Yes Hanzo?" Came a soft, female voice.

He nearly sighed in relief. "Is McCree alright?"

There was silence for a few moments. "Unknown."

Hanzo blinked at the reply. "You do not know? He is currently in his room, yes?"

"Correct."

Then... is he sick? Surely he is not dying."

"Unknown."

Hanzo grumbled in annoyance before sighing. "Fine then. I hope he gets better if he is sick."

"Would you like me to relay that message to him?"

"No!" Hanzo yelled in a panic. He did not need this right now. "No, there is no need."

"Alright, is there anything else I cal assist you with?"

"No, thank you. I would like to be left alone now." Without a response from the AI, the room fell silent once more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> True to his word, McCree meets up with him to shoot it up at the practice range. Though the gunslinger still has some bitter feelings about this whole thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, sorry this one is late, so I made it a bit longer than the last two. Also I don't know if I mentioned this, but Genji will have his face plate off most of the time throughout the story. I feel like he doesn't like having it on because he knows it's hard for people to read his expressions with it on. Also he's comfortable with himself now.

The next few days felt like a drag to Hanzo, having stuck to his room mostly due to the hostile feelings towards him that he seemed to feel whenever he stepped out. Genji stopped by a few times to encourage him to come hang out with all of them. He had assured the archer that if people just got to know him, they wouldn't dislike him, but Hanzo declined his offer, much to the disappointment of the cyborg. Angela had also stopped by to request that he follow her to get his physical done so they could have his records in their system.

Reluctantly he had followed her to her doctor's quarters and let her run her little tests, drawing his blood, taking his blood pressure and the like. As they were wrapping up, she turned to him, a hard look on her face. "You are a bastard. I had contemplated showing you the videos of your brother when he first arrived... but Genji seemed to know my intentions and requested that I did not." She sighed and dropped her shoulders. "Perhaps I am holding onto this grudge too much, but what you did to him was... it is beyond words."

Hanzo had averted his eyes. "I know this, doctor... but I wish to atone for what I have done."

Mercy nodded in agreement. "See that you do. He looks up to you and wishes the best for you. If he believes you deserve a second chance, then I have no right to go against that. However," she quickly added, giving him a stern glare. "I will not hesitate to tear you apart if you come close to hurting him again."

"I can assure you, I have no intention of ever hurting him again. When he found me in Hanamura and revealed himself to him, I felt something break inside of me. I could not believe what he had become... what I had made him." He cast his gaze to the ground. "Trust me, I cannot believe that he even gave me this second chance, but no matter, I really do wish to redeem myself."

Angela's expression softened as he spoke. "And I hope for both of your sakes that you do."

Hanzo nodded silently and Angel gave a half-hearted smile before standing. "Well alright then, time to go check up on McCree."

Hanzo seemed to perk up slightly at the mention of the gunslinger. That man still owed him some time at that practice range. "Ah, yes. How is he?"

"He is fine, I just need to bring him down for something like a check up." She turned to show the archer out and Hanzo stood to follow. As he stepped out, the doctor spoke again. "Oh and Hanzo. I apologize for my behavior towards you."

"I am sorry as well." He replied, giving her a small bow of his head.

Her smile was more genuine this time and he left, leaving the medical bay to head back to his room. Once enclosed inside, he left out a heavy sigh and pressed his back against the closed door of his room. He wasn't going to lie. While no one here exactly scared him, he had always been wary of confronting the doctor. Now that that was over with, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. Not that she didn't still dislike him, but at least she didn't appear as though he would be hunted by her anymore.

The next few hours consisted of him meditating, needing some sort of guidance to help with the others that didn't seem to like him. A soft knock on his door interrupted his peace and he opened his eyes, looking to the door with a raise brow. Standing from his position on the floor, the smoke from the incense disturbed slightly by his movement, he made his way over to the door, opening it a bit. Standing outside the door stood that cowboy, his back turned to the door as if he had made a mistake or regretted coming at all.

"McCree?" Hanzo said cautiously, wondering if the other would be upset at the use of his name. He had heard so many different names for the gunslinger and he knew the other didn't want him saying his first name, so he wasn't sure what the other wanted to be called.

The cowboy immediately whipped around so fast that Hanzo was sure he would whiplash. "Hey! Sorry, I know I said that we should go to the practice range but I forgot that... I mean I got sick unexpectedly." McCree said hastily to fix what he had said.

Hanzo's brow went up again as the other stumbled over his words like he was attempting to hide something. "I have gathered as much from two of the younger team members. They mentioned that this sickness happens about once a month."

"Yeah..." McCree said as he trailed off before quickly trying to change the subject. "Oh hey do you wanna hit the range now? It's typically pretty much empty around this time every day."

Hanzo looked at him with amusement and an odd sense of curiosity came over him as he longed to know what the cowboy was hiding. He brushed off the feeling for now and considered for a moment whether or not he wanted to join him right now. "Sure, I suppose now would be as good a time as any to do it." He turned and walked over to the corner of his room, grabbing his bow and quiver before walking back over. "Lead the way, cowman."

Jesse faltered at the use of the word cowman before laughing loudly. Hanzo felt himself flushing in embarrassed confusion. "Alrighty then, follow me!" He tipped his hat back at grinned at him.

Hanzo still felt flustered due to being laughed at, but he followed despite himself. It only took them a few minutes to arrive, but he couldn't help but feel anxious as he walked into the large room. No one was there, and he released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Shouldering his quiver, he eyed the targets and pulled out an arrow.

"So I was thinking, that maybe we could get to know each other a little better and have something of a friendly competition." The gunslinger fiddled with his gun holster a bit as he looked to Hanzo with questioning eyes.

Hanzo thought about it and nodded a bit. "A competition? Alright..." The archer smirked inwardly and knocked an arrow. "Can you handle being beaten?"

"Hey now, I'll have you know that I was the sharpest shooter back during the blackwatch days!"

Hanzo mulled over the information he was just giving before speaking. "I believe that the key word is 'was' the sharpest."\

"Alright, you're on sweetheart!" McCree unholstered his gun and took aim at the targets.

Hanzo faltered slightly at behind called sweetheart, but he quickly turned his attention back to their competition at hand. He had a cowboy to beat. Drawing back the bow string, he left loose his first arrow, hitting the target dead center. A whistle came from his side, drawing his attention away from the range.

"Damn, you're pretty handy with that bow." McCree tipped his hat up and stared at the pierced target.

Hanzo felt a tiny bit of pride swelling in his in his chest, but he didn't let it take over. "Are you going to stare at the targets, or shoot at them? Because..." He let another arrow fly and hit the target. "It looks like I'm beating you."

McCree became flustered and felt his face flush in embarrassment. "Now hold on, I'll catch up quick!" He twirled his revolver and took aim, shooting at three consecutive targets, all three hitting the bulls-eye on separate targets.

"Hmm, you have some skill." Hanzo said to egg him on a bit. His voice held amusement in it as he had already let loose two more arrows at that point, surprising the cowboy with his quick accuracy.

Their competition kept on for nearly an hour, Hanzo keeping the lead some how, leaving McCree baffled, but not far behind. Their time was interrupted close to the hour mark by Genji jogging in and looking around frantically. "Hey McCree, have you seen..." Genji's eyes fell on Hanzo and he stopped himself. "Oh, there you are! I was afraid that you had..." He stopped himself and shook his head.

"No, I did not leave." Hanzo finished for him and Genji smiled.

"You know, I didn't think that you would actually take Jesse up on his offer."

"Hey now, is that supposed to be a jab at my friendliness?" McCree's hand flew to his chest dramatically. "I can be a likable person when I want to be!"

Bad choice of words. A scoff came from the archer followed by a chuckle. "I still do not think that you want to be friendly with me. I can see the strain in your smile. God knows how hard it must be to attempt to befriend a man who had nearly killed his brother for his clan's honor..." Hanzo gripped his bow and grit his teeth. There he goes again, pushing people away. He didn't know what it was, but everytime his brother showed up, it made it hard to be positive. Shouldering his bow, his head ducked down a bit before he began walking towards the exit to the range.

"Brother..." Genji extended his hand, lightly, grabbing the other's arm, feeling Hanzo's muscles tense at the contact.

"I'm going back to my room. Don't worry, I am not leaving." Hanzo said curtly before leaving the other two in silence.

Not long after, the silence was broken again. "Shit, he can read people really well..." he scratched the back of his head and Genji shot him a glare. McCree held up his hands in surrender. "I tried, I really did, but it's hard to be genuine..."

"I had expected more from you McCree..." The cowboy gave an involuntary flinch when he was addressed by his last name. Genji continued, "Think about this. Hanzo has isolated himself from nearly all types of social contact. I've even heard him say that it was his punishment he deserves. Keep pushing him away and he will go back to shutting himself out, and that will not heal him. That will break him." Genji sighed and glanced at the other. "Tell me, Jesse. Was the reason you locked yourself away early this past month because of my brother."

McCree cast his gaze to the floor in shame. "Yeah... he just got my adrenaline going, I'm usually good at controlling the random changes, but it was too close to the moon phase..."

A simple nod was all Genji gave in reply. "Please try harder. He is not the same man he was and he needs friends. Friends that will care about him."

"I'm sorry, partner. I'm gonna try harder."

Genji smiled sadly and placed his hand on his shoulder before exiting the room, leaving McCree alone in the shooting range. He began gathering Hanzo's arrows from the targets, sure that he would want them back. He thought about taking them to him now, but decided against it. The archer more than likely needed some time by himself right now, so McCree took them with him to his own room for safe keeping.

\-------

After Hanzo had left the scene in the range, he slowly made his way back to his room. He felt his throat seize up as his jaw began to ache, a feeling that he had shut out a long time ago. He had to held it together, no one could see how weak he was. A choked sound left his lips before he took in a shuddering breath. Be the time he reached his door, his vision had begun to blur. He quickly went inside and close the door before the stream of tears came trailing down his face. Another sob escaped his lips and he hated how weak he felt.

"I was a fool for coming here. No one wants to have me as an ally, but I cannot blame them..." He pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes to stem the flow of tears, but the action did little more than slow it. "Dammit! I should have never come..."

An hour was how long he had spent alone. An hour to think and he found himself gathering his things, his eyes blurring more as he did. Hanzo knew he told Genji that he would not leave, but he wasn't sure he could take this. He was used to being alone. Once everything was gathered, he straightened himself and walked to the door. What he was not expecting was the cowboy to be standing there, his hand raised as if ready to knock on his door.

Immediately, McCree became flustered and Hanzo looked at him in surprise. "Oh geez, can you see through doors now? Uh... never mind, anyway, I thought I'd give him a little time by yourself before I brought these back to you..." He trailed off as he noticed the tear stains that were on the archer's face. "Hanzo?" He set the arrows down in the hall and immediately pulled the shorter man into an unexpected hug. "I'm sorry.. I'm a dick and you deserved none of that..."

Hanzo stiffened at the contact, his eyes going wide. He thought about pushing the other away but instead he just melted against him and the sobs started up again. He wasn't sure when the last time he was allowed to just cry. It had been even longer still that someone had been there to comfort him through it.

"Shit darlin', I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve what I done..." McCree said again and rubbed small circles into the other's back.

Hanzo gave a small sniffle in response and sighed. "Don't call me darling... and just a side note, you smell like a wet dog."

"Ah shit..." He released the archer and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Hanzo."

The other gave a light, but genuine chuckle and wiped at his eyes, a bit embarrassed that he had cried in front of another. "I apologize for crying on your poncho thing."

McCree let out a hearty laugh in amusement. "This ain't a poncho. It's called a serape, but no harm done. Tears wash out." He smiled softly before looking at the room that was now empty. "You, uh... you leavin'?" He asked, sadness and regret thick in his voice.

Hanzo glanced at the bag in his arms before looking to the arrows on the floor. "Not anymore. I think I'll give it another chance."

A smile grew on the gunslinger's face. "I really am sorry, darlin'... I mean Hanzo! I'm gonna make it up to you."

Hanzo was again taken aback by the cowboy's behavior, but this time for a completely different reason. Only a few days ago he saw McCree's nasty side and now, the man before him was as excited as a child during Christmas. "Hush, I would rather not attract any attention."

"Too late..." Hana came up to them. "What are you two old men talking about? Oh and I saw you hug each other. Too bad I didn't have enough time to take a picture."

Hanzo sputtered in embarrassment while McCree smiled at her in appreciation. He knew she had plenty of time to snap a quick picture, but she wasn't insensitive of people's feelings. So he quickly answered her. "We're talkin' about grown up old men stuff."

"Ew! That sounds gross!" She announced overdramatically before turning and leaving them. "I don't want to hear about that, later!"

McCree laughed before receiving a stinging slap on his arm. "Ouch! Both of you Shimada's really hurt!"

"I am not old." Hanzo said indignantly.

"Just entertaining the child."

"Better to not encourage the gremlin."

At that, Jesse snorted. "Not afraid of a child now, are you?"

"Afraid? Hardly, I just find children to annoy me." He replied and almost added that they give him anxiety. Too many people gives him anxiety, but young people overwhelmed him even more.

"Alright, well I am truly sorry for the way I treated you and I'm gonna make it up to you. I'm sure you have mixed feelings about me right now, but I'm gonna change that."

"Thank you, McCree." Hanzo said quietly.

"Please, call me Jesse."

\-------

Over the course of the next month, Hanzo and Jesse met every second day to have their little competition at the shooting range. Hanzo had also started eating with the group every now and then, thought when he got particularly overwhelmed one day, he would sit by himself the next day. Sometimes the archer would seek out the cowboy, which Genji had caught onto quickly and called him out on it, calling him adorable. Hanzo would roll his eyes in annoyance and continue on seeking him out.

Tonight happened to be the next time that they were going to get together for their routine shooting competition, and McCree had yet to show up. Hanzo thought it odd, but he had never been late before so he decided to wait a bit longer. Taking a seat on the floor, he began to meditate as he waited. He knew something was off when he still did not show up 30 minutes later. With a resigned sigh, he stood up and shouldered his bow and walked out. Perhaps McCree was too busy to be bothered by a silly competition with him. As he made his way back to his room, he passed the cowbow's room and paused for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should knock on the door. Hell, he might not even be in his room.

With another sigh, he adjusted the bow on his shoulders before turning to walk away. That's when he heard a quiet, muffled thump beyond the door. Turning to glance back at the door, his eyebrows rose ever to slightly and he approached the door.

"McCree?" Hanzo called out cautiously. "Are you alright?"

No answer. The archer's frown deepened as he slowly reached out to open the door. He hesitated. What if he wanted to be left alone? About ready to turn away again, he heard another thump. Swallowing his pride, he reached for the door handles.

"McCree?" Hanzo stepped into the dark room and saw a figure hunched over one another hunched over on the floor, on the far side of the bed. He walked in all the way, letting the door fall shut behind him. "Cowman, answer me."

The figure's head shot up and in the dark, Hanzo could see that his eyes were wide and his prosthetic was off. He was also naked and the archer quickly averted his eyes. "Are... are you alright?"

"Hanzo!? What the fuck are you doing in here!? Get out!" McCree yelled out with panic. He sounded scared and soon a pained gasp left his lips, leaving him hunched over again.

"What's wrong? are you sick?"

McCree left out a laugh. "Yeah... sick again just like everyone month..." His voice dripped with bitter sarcasm. "B-But seriously, you need to leave..."

Hanzo took a step back and moved to the door, but found himself unable to open it. "It's stuck..."

"What? Shit... Athena, you need to let him out!"

"Negative, Mr. McCree, your hormones are already changing, it would be dangerous to open the door now."

"Dammit, Athena, it's dangerous for him!"

"What is going on?" Hanzo interjected, confused and concerned.

"Fuck..." was the only response Hanzo received before the gunslinger curled up in pain. McCree gasped out as the archer heard what sounded like the cracking and shifting of bones.

Concerm welled up inside of the archer and he was next to the other in an instant. "Do we need the doctor?"

A shake of the head followed the question. "S-she cannot help me right now..."

The archer placed his hand on the other's back and looked around as if looking for help. His thoughts were interrupted as a particularly loud snapping sound emanated from McCree, leaving Hanzo to pull away quickly, startled. The cowboy had his eyes closed tightly and Hanzo's eyes were wide as he watched the other's arms and legs getting longer as thick, brown furr started covering his body.

Hanzo continued backing up, his back eventually hitting the locked door. He had half a mind to try and open it again, fear gripping at him. He didn't know what was going on with the gunslinger, but it wasn't good. Reaching for the handle, he tried it again, taking his eyes off of McCree for just a moment. A moment was all the other needed, evidently, because not a second later, McCree's new wolf like face was now staring him down, inches away from his own face. A deep growl came from his throat.

"Shit."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I had the chapter finished but I did not like how it turned out to I basically scrapped it and started over. So here is chapter 4!

Angela was standing in the medbay, hovering over the medical files of all of the members of the team. She had to make sure everyone was still in top physical condition. A small groan escaped her lips as she rubbed her eyes. This was not something she wanted to deal with right now, but it had to be done. 

Athena interrupted her self pity, causing her to start a bit. "Dr. Ziegler, we have an emergency." 

Well that caught her off guard. "Emergency?" Angela stood from her seat and ran a hand through her hair, frowning. "What kind of emergency?" 

"Mr Shimada is currently trapped Jesse's room." 

"Trapped... I don't understand..." Her eyes widened in realization before looking at the calender. "Oh my god. Genji?" 

"Negative, Genji is still on his way back from his mission. It's Hanzo." 

____ 

_Pain, that was all Jesse could feel. It started in his arm where they were injecting,_ _what ever_ _that shit was, and spread throughout his body. It felt like his veins were on fire. He gasped for air after he let out a scream, his back arching off the table. He just wanted it to end._    


_"They aren't coming for you, McCree." came a voice just to his left._    


_The cowboy simply sucked in a few shaky breaths, before letting out a_ _wheezed_ _laugh. "I-I know I wouldn't come for m-me... but they ain't me." He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to bring his mind back into focus. "They ain't gonna leave me..."_  

_"McCree... they're watching you right now." At that, Jesse opened his eyes back up and looked as the man gestured to a camera that was aimed at him. "They don't care an ounce about you, McCree."_  

_"S-stop calling me that! You don't know nothing about me!" He let out a slightly inhuman growl, which he startled himself with._  

_The man chuckled picked up another syringe, bringing it over._  

_"No more, please!" Jesse panicked and tried to move his restrained arm as far away from the needle as he could, but to no avail._  

____ 

"McCree..." Hanzo's back was pressed back against the door as the wolf let out a growl when the other spoke. "What... what are you..?" 

As if in answer, the wolf snapped his jaws at Hanzo and readied himself to lunge. Hanzo himself prepared for the other to attack, and when he did, he aimed to rip out his throat first. Hanzo's hands flew up to hold the wolf's jaws at bay, grunting as the beast growled in frustration. Pulling away, he growled again and instead clamped down onto Hanzo's leg, tearing into his flesh and dragging him across the floor and tossing him to the other side of the room.   
 

When he made contact with the wall, the archer collapsed in a heap, gritting his teeth through the pain. McCree was on him again in a moment, teeth barred and ready to attack again. As he crouched low to prepare, Hanzo looked at him with wide and fearful eyes. Here he was about to die by the only one who he could really call a friend, and he wasn't sure what to do. 

The dragon spirits began to writhe beneath his skin, but he wasn't sure he could keep them from hurting McCree. "Jesse... it's me..." 

That caused the wolf to pause, tilting his head in slight curiosity. Hanzo felt like this was progress so he tried again. "Jesse, is this why you couldn't make it to practice?" He said in a light, admonishing tone, raising his hand to the beast slowly, hoping that he wouldn't get his hand bitten off. 

The sneer was gone replaced by confusion as Jesse sniffed the hand that was offered to him before looking down at the leg that he had injured. Hanzo could almost see the light bulb go on as Jesse suddenly turned to him, whining when he realized who he had injured. Looking around his room, he grabbed the nearest article of clothing he could find and dropped it in Hanzo's lap before nudging the injured leg. The archer flinched a bit before looking at what he had been brought, which happened to be Jesse's serape. He wasn't sure what the other wanted him to do with it, but it suddenly clicked when McCree tried to gently do it himself with his only hand.   


Hanzo watched in amazement as the wolf gingerly lifted his leg and tried so hard to wrap the serape around his wound to stop the blood flow. "Jesse.... I can do it." He took the serape away from him and began doing it himself, making sure to tie it off. "Thank you..."   


Jesse whined in response and curled around him before a voice over the comms interrupted their small moment. 

"Hanzo? Are you alright?" It was Angela. "Athena is giving me your vitals, and your heart rate is rather high... Did McCree hurt you?"   


The wolf growled and sat up, looking around for the source of the voice before two arms wrapped around his neck and held him close.   


"Shh Jesse." Hanzo stroked the fur on his head a bit, and Jesse settled back down. "I am fine, though my leg was bitten pretty badly... I've got him calm right now." 

"I'm not sure what to do... we have to get you out of there so I can look at your leg, but with McCree like this..." Another deep growl eminated from the wolf's throat. 

"Dr. Ziegler, please, if you could, refrain from saying that name... call him Jesse. He seems to react better with that." 

"Alright... but we really need to look at your leg, Hanzo. It could get infected, then you could be in trouble.." Angela was worried on many different levels right now.   


"I am alright for now, Dr. Ziegler. Though, if you wouldn't mind maybe, dropping off some pain killers, I can certainly keep him calm for now. Perhaps I could sneak out if he happens to fall asleep?" 

"From what I've seen and heard, he doesn't really fall asleep, Hanzo. He stays awake, and I'm not sure we can wait 3 days before we pull you out of there. You wouldn't have any food or water, and your leg, left unattended in this state, could prove fatal to you at the very worst, you might even lose your leg!"   


"Dr. Ziegler, let us just wait for now and see what happens. I will be alright for a few hours while we think of what to do." 

Jesse looked at Hanzo, confusion etched into his wolfish features. Hanzo wondered if he really remembered who he was or if he would remember this when he changed back. He absently brushed his fingers through Jesse's fur, earning a slightly playful nudge to his side. 

"What? Now you want to play suddenly? After attacking me? What a foolish pup." He said with a small smile playing on his lips. "Do you even recognize me, or simply see that I am an ally?" 

Jesse cocked his head to the side and noticed that the other had stopped petting him. He let out a small whine and gently grabbed the other's hand with his own and brought it back to his head. "So you simply see me as an ally then. I should've guessed that you would not remember me in this form." 

The wolf nuzzled his head into the hand as the other continued to pet him. "You are quite affectionate for a terrifying beast." Came Hanzo's amused voice as the other seemed more than satisfied with his petting. He closed his eyes, a smile still sitting on his face. 

"Hanzo... are you still with me?" Angela's voice came over the comms again and Hanzo opened his eyes. When did he fall asleep. He glanced down at the wolf that was still sitting next to him, noticing that he was breathing slowly, having fallen asleep as well. 

"Yes... I am here." He gave in reply. 

"Oh thank god, you had been silent for nearly an hour, I thought I'd check up on you. Also, Athena tells me that McC... Jesse's heart rate has slowed, indicating that he is asleep. How on earth did you manage to calm him down to the point of getting him to sleep? I've only known one other person who was able to do that..." She cut herself off. "That's a story for another time. We need to get you out of there, alright? Can you make it to the door?" 

Hanzo carefully stood, using the wall for support as he pushed himself up, gritting his teeth as he did so. "I think I can make it..." He carefully stepped over the sleeping form of Jesse. The archer made it only two steps before the pain became too much and he collapsed with a pained gasp. 

Jesse immediately woke and was at his side in an instant, hovering over him like a shield, and attempting to comfort him with his only arm. He looked at him with questioning eyes, and if Hanzo could read them he was sure they would say 'Are you alright?' and "Why did you move?". 

"I'm alright, Jesse..." He clung to the wolf for support as the canine lifted him back up to a standing position. He began moving again to the door on the other side of the room and the wolf continued to help him and be his support, still confused as to why they were moving. "Jesse... I'm not sure if you can understand, but I need to leave." 

Oh Jesse understood and he immediately growled his protest, not wanting the other to leave. He wouldn't allow it if he could help it. 

"Hanzo, did Jesse wake back up?" The doctor sounded worried. 

"Yes, but if we keep him calm, I'm sure we can open the door and get me out." 

Angela knew this was a bad idea, but she also knew that she had to get the other out. She hesitantly opened the door, revealing herself and the Jack standing there, Jack with his rifle at the ready. Hanzo looked at them, surprised at the sudden appearance. 

Jesse did not take to the appearance well and let out a growl, nearly dropping Hanzo to attack, but the archer quickly wrapped his arms around the beast's neck. "Jesse shh, they aren't going to hurt you..." He stopped growling but his cautious glare didn't leave his eyes. Hanzo glanced at the old soldier and frowned. "You can't possibly be thinking of shooting him, can you?" 

"I'll do what I have to." Came the soldier's gruff reply, the words feeling familiar in his mouth as he suppressed unwanted memories. 

The wolf himself growled at the words before noting that Hanzo's arms were leaving him and he looked down at the man, watching him limp away from him. An angry, loud bark escaped his mouth and he lunged at Hanzo. Jack tensed and pulled the trigger, hitting his mark, but not slowing it. Jesse was in a rage now, not seeing anything but red. 

He swiped at Jack, knocking the gun from his hand and sending him to the floor. The soldier pulled his pistol from his holster and took aim. The commotion in the hall caused a few prying eyes to peek out of their rooms. However, before Jack could pull the trigger, another shot could be heard from down the hall. Jesse hissed and glanced up to the newcomer, baring his teeth. He stumbled a bit before collapsing to the floor, unconscious. 

Ana walked up to them from down the hall and frowned deeply. "Jack, after all these years and you're still handling the boy with a gun." 

"Ana..?" He looked at her, surprised to see her. He knew that she was on her way back with Genji and Winston, but he did not expect to see her this soon. 

"Looks like I showed up just in time too." She sighed and brushed her hand over Jesse's head fondly. "I don't care what you did or didn't believe, but at the very least you should've trusted Gabriel when he found his own way of calming Jesse." 

Jack visibly tensed at the mention of that name, but remained silent, his hand still gripping his pistol. 

"Now... Angela, dear, if you could tend to Hanzo while I patch Jesse up, alright?" Angela quickly nodded and moved Hanzo to her medbay while Jack and Ana moved Jesse back into his room. While Ana worked on healing him as best as she could, Jack ushered everyone back into their rooms. These was going to be a hard one to explain to everyone. 

____ 

Jesse changed back 2 days later and sat up before grunting at the mild ache in his side. His hand brushed over the spot and he frowned. He sat there for a moment trying to gather his bearings and remember what had happened. Something clicked in his brain and his eyes shot open. 

"Hanzo!" He frantically looked around his room, hoping to see the archer somewhere around in his room, perhaps huddled up in a corner, but all he saw was smears of blood on his floor in patches at bile began rising in his throat. "Oh my god, I killed him..." 

He covered his mouth as he fought  the urge to vomit, thinking that he had eaten the archer. He curled up and rocked back and forth, trying to get himself to breath as panic settled in. He didn't hear the door to his room open, but he did faintly register his name being called out. Two hands grabbed his face and forced him to look at the figure in front of him. 

"Jesse... breath!" Angela cupped his face, her eyes wide. "Deep breaths, dear. You're having a panic attack." 

"A-Angie..." Jesse choked on a sob. "I killed him. I killed Hanzo!" 

"No, Jesse, you didn't kill Hanzo, he's safe in his room. He is fine!" 

The cowboy looked in her eyes, searching them for the truth as if he didn't believe her. "He's... alive?" 

She nodded and ran her thumb over the other's cheek. "He is." 

He slumped against her and let his tears run down his face as she held him. "You do, however, have other things to worry about. Everyone now knows... that you aren't exactly... normal..." 

Jesse shook his head and smiled. "It wasn't a secret I could keep for ever. I'm actually surprised I kept it for this long." 

"You're taking that surprisingly well." 

"Darlin', I thought I killed Hanzo, but finding out I didn't, I'm okay with the fact that everyone knows... I'll just have to deal with everyone being afraid all over again..." 

"Oh Jesse... I'm here for you, and I'm sure Hanzo is here for you, you know Genji will always be by your side... and Ana's here too." 

"Ana arrived?" He lit up a bit. 

Angela nodded and smiled. "We're all here for you, alright? And I'm sorry." 

"Sorry? You ain't got nothing to be sorry about, darlin'. If anything, Talon should be the one apologizing, but you and I both know that they wouldn't apologize for creating an abomination..." 

"You are not an abomination!"Angela frowned. Jesse didn't respond, but he still felt like a mistake.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse finds that he doesn't have to be afraid of people knowing.

Jesse stood at the door to his room, contemplating if he should actually step out and face everyone or not. Tugging on the collar of his shirt, he took a deep breath and opened the door, watching as it slid open with ease. He almost wished that it would've taken it's time opening so he could change his mind and stay in the room instead. But it didn't so he peeked down the hall both ways before stepping out and making his way as quietly as he could to the kitchen. He was just going to grap some coffee and something to eat before slinking back off to his room to hide. It was still early so hopefully no one was up or going to be up soon. He made himself a couple pieces of toast and poured himself a cup of coffee before turning around and nearly dropping everything in his hands when he found Hana staring at him, her eyes wide.

"Shit... I uh." He paused and swallowed thickly trying to figure out what he was going to say next.

The gamer beat him to it. "Did you really changed into a werewolf?" She blurted out excitedly.

That caught the cowboy off guard as he opened and closed his mouth, trying to come up with a response. "I... yes?"

"That is so cool! I definitely owe Lucio like ten bucks, but it's so worth it to be wrong! How long have you been one?" She approached him, no fear in her eyes.

"For a while... Since at least when Overwatch was still together and not illegal." He set down his food on the bar since this was obviously going to turn into a conversation, and to be honest, he really needed someone to be unafraid of him like Hana was. He smiled a bit as she sat down next to him and the struck up a small conversation.

"Hana, get away from him." A gruff voice from behind them interupted them. Both of them turned in their seats and saw Jack standing there, his eyes narrowed and glaring at Jesse. His hand was obviously twitching to grab his gun if the need arose.

"Why, what are you gonna do if I don't?" Hana tested, her hands coming to rest on her hips and she moved to stand between Jesse and Jack.

"He's dangerous, and I've known it for years."

"Just because you're afraid of him, doesn't mean everyone else has to be." Hana moved to McCree and grabbed his arm. "Come on, lets leave this grumpy old man and go play some games. I've got my system set up in my room, we can have a game session."

"Hana, don't-" Jack moved to try and separate them before Hana threw him a glare and lead Jesse from the room.

Once they were out of ear shot, Jesse could feel tears pricking his eyes. "Don't be mad at him, Hana... he's a good man. A good man that's seen too much bad shit come from Talon. Talon's is why I'm like this. Truth be told, they ingrained in me a trigger word to make me turn feral and kill everything in sight. Gabe... My mentor... he helped me get past it and learn to control myself again."

Hana paused before turning to look at him. "If your mentor believed in you, and everyone else who was with you during those times believed in you too, then why can't he? He's projecting something onto you. Maybe it's blame, maybe it's guilt, but he doesn't have that right, and unless he can move past it, then he doesn't deserve my respect." She took a moment to let her words sink in before continuing. "I wasn't joking about letting you come to play games. If you want, we can still go play. Lu might join us later."

"You know what, sure." Jesse felt himself grinning.

When Lucio finally joined them, he was apprehensive at first, and Jesse didn't blame him. He remembers a brief flash in his memory of lunging at the musician. But after a bit, he started laughing with them. When he started to lose the fun of playing the games, he let Hana and Lucio go at it with each other, smiling at them in amusement. His smile began fading when he thought of Hanzo. How was he going to react? He probably hated him now. He remembered nearly killing him, but most of that night was a blur. Wincing slightly, he pressed his hand to where Jack had shot him. While it was mostly healed, he knew it would still sting for a little while. Standing up, he nudged Lucio's shoulder.

"You guys have fun, I'm gonna go find Genji."

"Make it up to Hanzo, dude! He's been worried sick about you!" Lucio yelled at him as the door shut behind him.

Jesse froze. Hanzo was worried about him? Maybe worried that he'd hurt someone, but there's no way he was worried about his well being. He shook his head and went to go find Genji. Maybe he could talk about this to him. He wasn't ready to face Hanzo yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys. I am so sorry for such a long wait. Every time I tried to sit down and start writing, I couldn't find the inspiration. I hope you enjoyed and I'm going to try really hard to get more chapters through.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse faces Hanzo again.

Jesse walked down the hall, his mind wandering and trying to figure out what he was going to say. This is why he was talking to Genji first. Besides Jesse, Genji was the only one who Hanzo spent time with a lot. Sure Lucio and Hana talked to him some, but they didn't seek him out like Genji or he did. Jesse was taken aback by his own thoughts. Did he actually seek out Hanzo? Jesus, he almost sounded desperate.

Shaking his head, he paused, realizing that he was standing in front of Genji's room now. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"One moment!" Genji's voice on the other side of the door sounded before the door slid open. He was maskless, his smile shining brightly "Jesse!"

"Howdy, I was wondering if we could... uh talk." Jesse rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as he smiled, unsure.

Genji stepped aside, a certain glint in his eye that left Jesse wondering what was going on. Once inside, he realized what it was. Hanzo was sitting in a chair on the other side of Genji's room, hidden from view if you were standing outside. Anxiety immediately clawed at him inside his chest and he moved to turn around and leave, but Genji was standing between him and the door, blocking his exit.

"I have to go, Genji, I'm sorry, something came up."

"Nice try, but Hanzo has been worried about you."

Hanzo scoffed indignantly. "Please, you were just as worried."

Jesse made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded half way between a whine and something dying. He couldn't find the words he wanted to say. He wanted to apologize, to ask for forgiveness, something! All he could manage, however, was a pitiful sound.

Hanzo snorted and stood from the chair, walking over to him, a very slight limp evident in his step. "Jesse, it's alright. Although, knowing about your... condition ahead of time might have been a good thing."

"I didn't want anyone to know who didn't already know..." He looked down and sighed. "When you came into my room, I was so scared. And when I was back to normal, I thought I had killed you."

"Well you didn't. I was actually able to calm you down before that soldier ended up... shooting you. Speaking of which, are you alright?"

Jesse's eyes widened ever so slightly as his eyebrows shot up. He looked down at his torso and his hand came up to touch where he had been shot. "Yeah, it's still a little tender, but I heal abnormally fast when I'm in-" He hesitated a moment before continuing. "In my other form."

Genji clapped him on the back and smiled. "I'm glad to see you up and moving around. I've never seen Jack act out like that before."

"Yeah, well Gabe was usually there to stop him."

The ninja's smile turned sad. "Ah yes, he always did protect us."

Hanzo's gaze turn questioning as he tried to determine who this Gabe was, but he decided that it was a sore subject and that it wasn't any of his business. One thing that he was curious about popped into his head. "When I called you McCree, you reacted poorly, but when I called you Jesse, you seemed to calm down."

Jesse seemed to flinch at the question that hung in that statement. "Yeah... Talon seemed to pick up on the fact that I was called McCree by a lot of people so they made it a trigger word. The people doing the experiments on me kept calling McCree so much that it made me hate it. They tested it out, noting that it made my heart rate rise significantly... which can trigger a transformation. It worked for a while. When I was brought back, everyone called me McCree. I was filled with so much rage at the name, I changed and I nearly killed 5 people before they caught me. Gabriel Reyes, the man who led Blackwatch, helped me through it and I had to go to therapy for a long ass time before I could be cleared."

"That sounds like a nightmare." Hanzo commented, a frown on his face.

A bitter chuckle left the cowboy's mouth. "Oh it was." His shoulders dropped slightly, letting the tension leave him. "How... how is your leg? I didn't mess it up too bad, did I?"

"No, just a slight limp for a few days. I will be fine." Hanzo moved closer. "I'm not angry nor am I scared. I was able to tame the beast, so to speak." He said with a smirk.

Jesse couldn't stop the blush from creeping up onto his face. Was he actually flirting with him? He wasn't sure how to interpret that comment and was about to say something, but Genji laughed loudly behind him.

"Look at what you've done! You've made Jesse flustered!"

"Hey now!" said man frowned as he looked at him indignantly, though it did not have it's desired effect since he was still blushing. Genji simply laughed at him again.

Moving close, Hanzo laid his hand on Genji's shoulder. "I think I will take my leave now. The doctor did want me to visit."

Genji nodded and smiled. "I will talk to you later, brother."

After Hanzo left and the door slid closed, the ninja looked at Jesse, his eyebrow raised in a suggestive questioning look. "Was he just flirting with you? And you blushed! What is the story there?"

"Th-there is no story!"

A huff of amusement left his lips. "Of course not, nothing to be interpreted there at all."

All Jesse could do was open and close his mouth, attempting some sort of comeback, but he only continued to flounder. In all honesty, he didn't know what that was. Sure Hanzo was easy on the eyes, but it wasn't as if they'd actually shown active interest in each other before, had they? All Jesse knew now was that he was in deep. In what, he wasn't sure yet, but he was sure he was going to find out soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short filler chapter to help nudge the story along slowly, but surely.


End file.
